Aaron Mitchum's Blog

June 11, 2010

Cherith Brook

I am in the midst of co-writing a series of books on The Spiritual Disciplines for students with my friend Chris. Two weeks ago, I finished studying for one I'm about to start on simplicity.

Last night, Page, Elliott and I had the privilege of eating dinner with old and new friends at the catholic worker house in Kansas City named, Cherith Brook.

This morning I am struck at the contrast of the need for simplicity in the Christian life and the avoidance of simplicity in the Christian life.

I have been lusting after an iPhone lately. That obsession weighed heavily on my heart last night as people were going around and sharing praises and despairs to God. Folks were grateful for job opportunities, food to eat, air to breathe and joy in their hearts. True empathy seemed to be expressed for the sadness brought up in prayer requests for cancer victims and the current state of The Church.

The simplicity in the room, even though in a way it was something unjustly bestowed upon many of those folks, stripped away life to the core. That stripping seemed to equip us with the ability to hear and think of the other more than ourselves. Or at least just as much.

The time spent there was renewing.

So, I continue to struggle with my own desires for an iPhone 4, new music gear, a better car, cooler clothes, etc. in the midst of knowing that this consumption fills my heart up, leaving little room left for God.